I have a couple of basic questions about Duke and Duchess. I am sure they have been answered before, but if I coulda ask again without having to read through everything, I would appreciate it.

First, where do they live? If I am correct after skimming through all the threads they have a fairly ordinary home in Sintra, which is a neighboring city to Lisbon. They also have a country house and a beach house. They do not have one of the ancestral homes, palaces, etc. Is this correct?

Second, after the revolution the royal family was expelled. Were they allowed to retain any property in Portugal? Did the Duke inherit substantial wealth? I note that there is an entity called the Brangaza Foundation. Was if formed to safeguard the royal family's finances after the revolution? And how does the Duke support himself now? Does he work?

As to the second one:After the republican uprsing (rather than a revolution) the RF left to exile with little more than what they could carry with them.Later, due to british RF influence, the republican government send to Queens D.Amélia and D.Maria Pia and King D.Manuel their personal belongings, clothes, jewels, private papers, some minor objets d' art .

D.Amélia owned quite a few buildings in Lisbon - most of António Maria Cardoso street in Chiado (including the later HQ of Salazar's political police PIDE) and she could receive her rents.

Later rents were frozen in Lisbon and her income became smaller and smaller as well as renovation works grew more and more expensive.

When D.Manuel died in 1932, Salazar made an agreement with D.Amélia snd her daughter-in-law D.Augusta Victoria, according to which the two queens renounced to her succession rights on the bulk of D.Manuel' s inheritance which had been kept in Portugal, and with those properties and goods, he created the Fundação da Casa de Bragança.

The Miguelist branch of the family was poor as a church mouse.When D.Miguel left to exile he refused to take any properties with him, including his share on D.Carlota Joaquina's inheritance.He also refused to receive a pension D.Pedro proposed to pay him.He choosed to live a decent, dignified and poorer life, not wanting that it could be said he was living on portuguese money.He received a pension from the Pope and the help of miguelist supporters and émigré aristocrats (the Cadaval family f.i.)Later the family mingled wit two of the richest families, the Liechtensteins and the Thurn und Taxis and D.Miguel (III) married a very wealthy american heiress.

When Salazar decided it was time to revoke the Banning Act on the Miguelist branch of the family, he realised they should live with a minimum (and he stresed "minimum" ) funds that would support their role.

In a genious act, he killed two birds with a stone.He approached D.Amélia and canningly shared with her the problem.D.Amélia was D.Duarte Pio's godmother.She ought to make him the main beneficiary of her will, providing for the family' s economic independence.That way, not only the Queen's property would remain in portuguese hands, rather than pass to the Queen's french relatives, and the state would be seen as the supporter of the idea, without having to spend a penny with the family.

So D.Duarte Pio found himself the owner of a vast empoverished and decadent real estate, part of it he sold during the real estate boom at the beginning of the century.You might have heard the "noise" some left wing made when he sold the PIDE building so that a luxury hotel would be built.The left-winged, who never had any interest in the building, suddenly "decided" that it should be turned into an anti-fascist museum instead of the planned hotel.BTW the hotel was built...

D.Duarte and his brothers also own a farming manor estate in Santar where they grow wine and cereals.The Duke worked at an agricultural mutualist institution and at Fundação D.Manuel II.D.Isabel worked as a fortune manager at banco Espírito Santo before her wedding, and went on working for some years.Not sure if she still does.

Fundação da Casa de Bragança has nothing to do with the present RF and as far as I knew, they don't maintain relations with the RF.After revoking the anning Law, Salazar ordered the Fundação to provide a palace for D.Duarte Nuno's family at S.Marcos in Coimbra.After the 1974 revolution, a left-winged commitee occupied the palace and the family had to leave.

D.Duarte Nuno would die soon after and by then, D.Duarte Pio and his brothers lived mostly in Santar and later in Sintra

Yes, indeed! I suppose the image of a buch of little blond crowned heads sells better than any photo of teenagers

On another note, here's an article about the famous ice cream shop, Santini (in Cascais), which is celebrating 60 years old. D. Duarte Pio told DN that the best memories of his childhood are those of the ice creams Attilio, which he used to flavour during Summer vacations in Cascais. Nowadays, D. Duarte, D.ª Isabel and the children are also customers of this italian ice-cream parlour.

Judging from the tanned faces of the duchess and the other ladies, the weather in Lisbon must be great still. Sigh, wish I was there .

The weather in Lisbon is always great Even when the days are cold... we still have this warm and beautiful sun.

Quote:

What is the Banco do Bebé? A charity organisation that collects baby clothes for poor children?

Yes, it is.

The two blond ladies are Mrs. Arnoso, married with José Arnoso, an old friend of King Juan Carlos of Spain and Branquinha Pinto Magalhães. The three ladies are always present at the annual Banco do Bebé initiatives.

This week, at the Coach Museum (in Lisbon), the Duke of Bragança and the Foundation D. Manuel II signed an agreement with the Portuguese Society of Beers, which reaffirms Sagres Bohemia beer as the official supplier of the Portuguese Royal House. From now on, Sagres Bohemia is going to display the arms of the Royal House on the labels of its bottles.

According to them D.Isabel might have contracted the H1N1 virus during a voyage abroad last October - the date matches the wedding of Pss Isabel of Orléans-Bragança and Pr. Alexander of Stolberg in Brazil on Oct.16th.

The RF refuses to admit it was the swine flue, referring it was a mere common flue.

For safety reasons and precaution regarding her children, the Duchess stayed in quarentaine in her room for 10 days without any contact with them, but she is fully recovered and she even celebrated her birthday last Sunday .